Angel of Death Fruit

Book One: Deadline

By Dixxy Mouri

Prologue

Twelve and a half years ago. . .

It was late, and little Nami knew she and her sister shouldn't have been out playing by themselves at this hour. But both she and Nojiko were restless that night, so they snuck out of the house to run around and play tag in the orange grove. Shrieking happily in the moonlight, neither of the little girls had much of a care in the world.

That is, of course, until Nami noticed the woman watching them.

Nami and her sister stopped running to stare at the woman in curiosity. She was a very pretty woman with wild turquoise hair and a brilliant satiny dress – nothing like any of the village women would wear, even on a special occasion. The little girls were mystified by her appearance and curious as to how such a magnificent woman had come to appear in their orange grove.

"Hello, little girls," she said. "Tell me. . . what are you dreams?"

Nami and Nojiko stared at each other. She was pretty, but she was also a little weird. Why did she want to know what their dreams are? Didn't she want to know their names or something first?

"I think Bellemere-san told us not to talk to strangers," said Nojiko.

"Yeah. . ." said Nami, looking at the woman with worried curriosity. She cleared her throat and cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted at the woman. "Our mommy said we were not to talk to strangers! So bye-bye, lady!"

"But my darlings – we have met, so we are strangers no longer!" she said.

"We don't know who you are – you're a stranger!" said Nojiko, pointing an accusing finger at the woman. Nami took that as a cue to hide behind her older sister – something was very scary about this situation. "I'm going to get our mommy and you'll be in trouble! So go away!"

"Ah, but that is only because I have not been given the chance to get to know you. Why, once we talk for a while then we won't be strangers any longer!" she said. She began to step towards the girls, and the sisters held hands and stepped backwards with each step she took towards them. "Now my dears, let me get to know you a little better-"

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

Nami and Nojiko looked behind them to see Bellemere-san was holding her shotgun and pointing it directly at the strange woman. Both girls squeaked and hid behind their mother, peeking around her legs to see what was going on. Bellemere-san looked very tense, sweat dripping down her forehead as she steadied the gun at the strange woman.

The woman wasn't very bothered by the gun and continued to step forward – Bellemere-san cocked the gun in response. The stranger clucked her tongue and shook her head. "Now, now, now. . . why must we resort to violence?" the woman asked. "I simply want to talk with your lovely little girls."

Their mother wasn't moved. "I know who you are. . . I know what you want. . . now get the hell away from my daughters. . ." Bellemere said coolly. She put the gun over her shoulder.

The woman shrugged, then grinned darkly. Nami thought her eyes darkened a little and she appeared to grow fangs. "So, should I search for another child in your village? They're all so young and supple. . . I must say this village has children who look simply. . . delicious. . ."

Nami's eyes went wide.

"Get. Off. This. Island. NOW!" Bellemere shouted, firing a bullet at the woman. Nami and Nojiko screamed, burying their faces into the back of Bellemere's shirt.

But the bullet didn't hit its mark.

"What the- she's gone?!" asked Bellemere-san. Nami peeked around her mother's leg and gasped to see the monster woman had vanished. She looked up at Bellemere, questioning the woman as to where the woman had mysteriously run off to. Bellemere placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. She looked terrified, but relieved to see they were both all right. "Nami. . . Nojiko. . . I'm going to bring you back to the house. Do no let anyone but me inside. Hide yourselves under my bed and don't make a sound until I come back," she said calmly. "I don't want to loose either one of you to that monster."

"Monster?" asked Nojiko.

"If that woman had her way. . . I would have never seen either of you ever again."

Shortly after Enies Lobby. . .

Nami woke up with a start, looking around frantically as she tried to remember where she was. She noticed that a few of her crew mates were staring at her strangely, and she blushed as she calmed down. "Ah. . . sorry," she said, relaxing back into her chair. "Don't mind me."

"Did you just have a bad dream?" asked Luffy. His eyes widened in horror (though his face still carried a slightly blank expression that was customary for their captain). "Don't tell me – it was a world without meat, wasn't it?" With that, he began to scream and run around the deck at the idea of a world without meat.

Nami glared at the captain, but decided he would distract himself with something else shortly – most likely something in the kitchen, preferably something with meat. She sighed, looking around long enough to see the rest of her friends – at least those also out on the deck – had gone back to their regular business and had seemingly forgotten about her sudden outburst.

It had been a long time since she had thought about the woman in the orange grove – years, probably. When she had been a little girl, it was this woman who haunted her dreams, lived under her bed, and made her run screaming to Bellemere's side. She would chase after her in dreams, snatching her away from her mother.

This woman represented all of her worst fears until Arlong came along, and suddenly the monster woman was pushed to the back of her mind. Nami didn't have the time or energy to be afraid of her at the moment – she had a lot of money to raise, and she wanted to raise it quickly.

But with Arlong out of her life and well behind her, it looked like this other nightmare was slowly creeping back to the surface. Maybe it was her new bounty that had put her on edge at the idea of being taken away from her friends. Or maybe something about Enies Lobby was still bothering her – they had almost lost Robin and Usopp, but in the end the only change in their lineup was a new ship and a new crewmate.

"Nami-swan! Did you enjoy your afternoon journey into dreamland!?"

Nami smiled kindly at the ship's cook, who was dancing – yes, dancing – towards her lounge chair with a cocktail in one hand and a smile on his face. "Hello, Sanji-kun," she said. She swung her legs over the side of the chair, crossed them, and folded her hands into her lap.

"Ah, my lovely Nami-san, it is an original creation of my very own with sweet tangerine juice and a few special spices," he said, twirling before presenting the beverage to the crew's navigator. Nami took a sip through the straw – as always, it was wonderful. Ignoring that he was a bit overly amorous, Nami had to give the captain credit for finding such a talented cook. "Do you like it?"

"It's wonderful, Sanji-kun," she said. She sighed and leaned back, stirring the drink with the little paper umbrella. Sanji hadn't left her side yet, though – he was now squatting next to her lawn chair, staring at her in worry. "Ne, Sanji-kun? Is everything all right?"

"You looked upset before I came over here," he said.

Oddly perceptive of you, Nami mentally noted. "I just had a bad dream, that's all."

"Did something back in Enies Lobby scare you? Or somewhere else in our travels?" he asked, taking a seat and pulling out a cigarette. He lit the smoke and inhaled. "Right now we're fine – every thing's been quiet for a few days, so you should try and calm down a bit."

"No, this dream had to do with something from a long time ago," she said.

Sanji frowned. "It's not Arlong, is it?"

Nami shook her head. "No, but I'm not sure I want to talk about it," she said.

"Aw, Nami-san," he said. "If you don't get it off your chest it will just keep coming back. It's all right if you don't want to talk with me about it, but you should talk with someone – even the stupid Marimo head is better than no one. All keeping it in will do is make you worry about, and we need our navigator clear-headed so she knows where we're going, right?"

"You're probably right," she said. "But. . . I need to think about it for a little first, okay?"

"All right," he said, standing up. Sanji brushed off his pants and lit a cigarette. He took a drag, blew a smoke ring, and winked at Nami. "When you decide you're ready, and if you need someone to talk to," he said as he started to saunter back to the kitchen, "you know where to find me."

Nami smiled as he disappeared through the door to the galley. At least someone on the crew noticed whenever she was having a tough day. Even if he could be a pain in the ass sometimes, it was nice to know he was around either way. Maybe I should take him up on his offer to talk about it.

But just at that moment she heard loud cries of laughter from the captain, doctor, and marksman followed by a loud crash and yelling from the first mate. Sanji's offer was completely forgotten as Nami grabbed her Perfect ClimaTact and prepared to find out just what her idiot captain had done this time.

Later that evening. . .

It was Sanji's turn to take watch that night, and he used the opportunity to have a few moments to himself with a bottle of his favorite wine and some smokes. The observation tower made watch a lot nicer than it had been on the Going Merry (though everyone save Franky still missed the old ship terribly).

He was surprised to hear the door open, and smiled to see his Nami-san coming through the door. "Nami-san, what a pleasant surprise!" he said cheerfully. She smiled seductively at him and swayed her hips as she walked over to him with and slid into his lap, giggling lightly as she licked his nose.

Sanji was speechless as Nami pressed her forehead against his own. "Na. . . Nami-san. . ." he stuttered. He reached up to touch the side of her face, and she pulled away, pressing a finger to his lips. His eyes widened, and he wondered if this was real. Nami was here, trying to seduce him, and he WANTED to be seduced.

In a flash, however, Nami was gone, and Sanji was alone in a dark room. "Nami-san?" he asked. "Nami-san. . . this is getting really weird. . . hello?" He took a few steps forward, then started to call out. "Usopp? Luffy? Robin-chan? Chopper? Is anybody there? Franky? Marimo-head? Anybody?"

You're all alone, little boy. Isn't that a sad story?

Sanji looked around, but he could see the source of the voice. "Who's there?"

I am.

The cook felt tense and started to panic, instinctively searching for a cigarette – only to have a strong, bony hand grab his hand and pin him to a wall. He cried out as he felt something sharp skid across the back of his neck. Sanji couldn't move, and he felt warm, moist breath on the side of his face.

Don't be afraid.

Sanji turned his head in time to see large, sharp teeth closing in on his face. . .

Sanji woke up on the floor on his room, his legs tangled in the sheets. The others in the room were still asleep, and he put his face in his hands. He didn't want to deal with his crew mates right now – he just needed a few moments to collect himself and then he could go back to sleep. After all, he had to get up in a few hours to start breakfast.

Yes – focus on breakfast. You can pancakes – it's a little extra time consuming than just eggs and bacon. . . mixing the batter. . . grinding the spices. . . it'll be good to concentrate on. . . Sanji picked up the sheets and laid them on the bed, and considered going out for a smoke.

His cigarettes and lighter were stuffed in the pocket of his favorite suit jacket, and he fumbled around for them, finally wrapping his hand around both. He stared at the half empty pack of smokes and the lighter – which was almost out of fluid – and shoved them back into the jacket and pulled the covers over his head.

Somewhere on the Grand Line. . .

Just like every other tavern, this one was invariably filled with lots of loud, rowdy drunks – at least half of whom had bounties for one crime or another – and more than a few men sporting black eyes and missing teeth from previously lost fights. And, as per usual, one of the drunks decided to get a little too friendly for Sanae's liking.

"Hey baby, what's shakin'?"

Sanae rolled her eyes. She didn't think she was particularly good pick up material, but considering not a lot of women were bold enough to go into these establishments, she got used to being hit on by horny pirate men. Seriously, can't you find someone better to hit on than me? She saw a rather large-chested woman across the tavern, but upon a second glance realized she was actually a he. Oh. That's why.

Sanae noted the metal ring donning his finger and smiled. "Isn't that a wedding ring?" she asked innocently as she took a seat on the edge of the table, eliciting several snickers and whistles from the other men at the table. She lifted the man's hand, looking at the ring with interest. "Hmm, maybe not. I doubt a woman with half a brain would go near you, anyways. And the ring? The craftsmanship is shoddy – you got ripped off."

The man laughed at Sanae and began to brag. "I stole it! I've got a ten million bounty on my head – I'm more than capable of snitching a little ring like this!" said the drunk. "It was part of a heist our crew pulled a few weeks back – dumbass merchant didn't know what hit him!"

Sanae laughed. "If he was smart he would've paid you to take this piece of shit off his hands," she said. "The edging is uneven and the ring wasn't even made with real silver – looks like aluminum if you ask me – it's junk metal and probably isn't even worth the leather in your boots."

The drunk grew angry with her evaluation. "You're making me angry, little miss – I think you need to pay me back with some of your services, girl." He stood up, clearly dwarfing her in height and girth. "You're a pretty one, aren't you, girly? A really pretty one. . ."

Sanae rolled her eyes. "Oh please."

"You better take me seriously, bitch!"

Yup. Now he'd done it. "You asked for it!"

One busted pirate, one collected bounty, one cappuccino, a BLT and a half-eaten ice cream later, Sanae strolled out of a small restaurant a few blocks away from the tavern (and the local Marine HQ) with the cone still in hand and a satisfied stomach. Though her quest for information was so far unsatisfied, she still had the entire evening to look for anyone with a clue.

"Straw Hat and his crew are worth WHAT!?"

She turned her head to see a pair of Marine privates – she knew them as Akiraa and Nagi from her recent drop-off – nailing bounty posters on nearby bulletin board. Nagi looked like he was about ready to soil himself while Akira just looked amused as his friend stared at the stack of posters before him. "I told you – those guys are monsters! I haven't seen a crew with this many bounties. . . ever!"

Sanae had heard of Straw Hat Luffy before – he was some up-and-coming pirate worth one-hundred million berries with a former bounty hunter from East Blue named Roronoa Zoro and the infamous monster of West Blue, Nico Robin, amongst the ranks of his crew. But from the way these Marines were talking, Straw Hat made another mess and was going to make some bounty hunter or Marine officer very, very happy one day. Sanae walked over to the Marines – she was curious about what was going on with the infamous pirate. "What's going on?"

"The Straw Hat Pirates, that's what!" said Nagi. He pointed at the smiling face of the man who had eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi, shaking in his boots. Sanae never understood how a man who looked so simple could be so dangerous, but apparently the World Government thought otherwise. "The boys at Mariejoa just tripled his bounty! He's worth three-hundred MILLION berries!"

She nearly choked on her ice cream cone. "THREE-HUNDRED MILLION?!"

Akira scoffed. "Nico Robin and Roronoa Zoro got boosts, too," he said. He snickered. "And a few other members of his crew have started getting some attention as well – that whole group is worth a small fortune! I'd love to be the one to take them down – bet Sanae here wouldn't mind that kind of a payload, either."

"You couldn't take down a three-hundred million pirate!" said Nagi.

The other Marine shrugged, waving the posters as his arm moved. "I'll get stronger." He laughed. "But even with her unusual credentials, even Little Miss Bounty Hunter here might have some trouble – that no name from before was just worth ten million. These guys are worth a lot more."

Sanae shook her head. "May I see the rest of the posters?" she asked, bending over a little and gently touching the top poster. "I'm a little curious to see these myself. Just what kind of crew does this guy have anyways?"

"Oh, we've already hung up the complete set on this wall – see for yourself!" Akira stepped aside, proudly displaying the eight posters neatly lining the wall, not even old enough to have tears or smudges on them yet. "We haven't confirmed one of them to be a part of the crew, but they're pretty sure that if he's spotted the Straw Hats won't be far off."

Sanae stared at the posters in disbelief. "That can't be right," she said softly.

"Yeah, it's pretty disturbing that this one crew is worth this much for just a handful of people – they're even got some kind of cyborg! Can you believe that? He's not completely human! Half of him is made from guns and stuff!" said Nagi. He purred as he ran a finger down the picture of a woman in a bikini top. "Though I must say that the burglar looks pretty hot. I haven't seen a girl look that good in a swimsuit for a LONG time."

"Yeah, but what's up with the pet? I think they spent more money making posters for that stupid thing than he's actually worth! I mean, come on, can't they at least bump him to a million? I mean, one of the Straw Hats could probably pay twice the pet's bounty just to make a bounty hunter go away."

"The ones that are pissing me off are these two – Black Leg Sanji and the Sniper King, Sogeking. We've got one guy with a half-ass sketch and another son of a bitch in a mask. Now how are we supposed to catch those two with that to go on? Huh? Unless that mask is glued to his face we're not gonna know a thing about Sogeking for a while and freakin' Black Leg's only got some stupid eyebrow to go on! Man. . . they don't pay us enough to go after some of these guys. What do you think, Sanae – hey, Sanae?"

But Sanae was already headed for the shipyard. Akira laughed. "Well, well, well, looks like that tiggy little stick is a little ballsier than we thought, huh Nagi?" He slapped his knee, then grinned. "If it weren't for her ability, you wouldn't think someone like her would be able to build up a reputation as a bounty hunter, would you?"

Nagi nodded. "And with her ability. . . Straw Hat Luffy better hope she doesn't find him."

Author's Notes

I wanted to extend a special thank-you to my friend Chris-kun for beta-reading my one-shot "Upset" and looking over some of the earlier drafts of the outline for Deadline and hearing some preliminary ideas for the next books in the series (this is the first in a series of three Angel of Death Fruit stories).

I've tried to cut back on Sanae's importance in the prologue and put more emphasis on Nami and a little on Sanji, but I felt like it was important that Sanae have an appearance early on in the story as she starts her hunt for the Straw Hat Pirates.

Enjoy!

Dixxy